The health benefits of regular exercise are well known. Many different types of exercise equipment have been developed over time, with various success, to facilitate exercise. Examples of successful classes of exercise equipment include the treadmill and the stair climbing machine. A conventional treadmill typically includes a continuous belt providing a moving surface that a user may walk, jog, or run on. A conventional stair climbing machine typically includes a pair of links adapted to pivot up and down providing a pair of surfaces or pedals that a user may stand on and press up and down to simulate walking up a flight of stairs.
Various embodiments and aspects of the present invention involve an exercise machine that provides side-by-side moving surfaces that are pivotally supported at one end and adapted to pivot up and down at an opposite end. With a device conforming to the present invention, two pivotable moving surfaces are provided in a manner that provides some or all of the exercise benefits of using a treadmill with some or all of the exercise benefits of using a stair climbing machine. Moreover, an exercise machine conforming to aspects of the present invention provides additional health benefits that are not recognized by a treadmill or a stair climbing machine alone. These and numerous other embodiments and aspects of the present invention are discussed in greater detail below.